Human Capability in Five Levels
Introduction This is my personal alternative edition of the Wilson-Leary circuits, predicated upon Plato's five divisions of human nature. I consider it superior, in that it is relieved of the need to conform to Psychiatry's Freudian and clinical roots. This is a vision of human nature which allows for an attainment of mental well-being, rather than being grounded in mental illness, neurosis, and psychosis. Consider it a recipe for Nietzsche's Moral Superman as every human being's rightful inheritance. Sarx, genotype, tissues and organs, and the instincts Sarx is the human flesh, it's ordered assembly in tissues and organs, it's growth and development, and the instinctive drives which arise from these. These capabilities are the foundations of our existence as organic creatures, have allowed us to mature as a species, and are the basis of our continued existence. They are, however, the quickest and dirtiest of algorithms, allowing only for the most short-sighted, selfish, and tactical solutions. Here, Man is an animal only, with fate and deterministic predestination the only deciding factors; "survival of the most fecund" as politics, economics, and a brutal form of merit. Soma, phenotype, metabolism, and habits Soma encompasses collectively the energies of the body; if sarx is form, then soma is function. Each individual accumulates their own body of experience, and while many experiences overlap, others are distinctly personal and unique. Habits form the expression of this accumulated experience. A balance of widely-held mastery and specialized expertise has to be achieved here, and fundamental values vie with the various needs and expressions of excellence. Here, Man is a creature of habits, institutions, and traditions; merit is found within the bounds of, and in support of, the strongest established interests. Psyche, perception, facts and opinions, formal and informal logics Psyche is the rational mind, which consists of both concepts and expressions of sentiments. Cognitive, conative, affective, perceptive, instinctive, intuitive, and executive mental functions all contend for predominance, in the individual, and in the whole of Mankind. Prestige and "quality" of opinion face off against quantity, stridency, and sheer repetition. "Facts" are those opinions which are least controversial, or affirm the prejudices of those who call them facts, while "opinions" are those statements which are qualified as being personal, obviously biased, or narrowly drawn by experts in esoteric fields. Here, Man is a creature of language and concepts, and merit is found in mastery of ideology and technology. Nous, meta-cognition, many worlds, and "Truth" Nous is the human capacity for myth, legend, faith, and belief, without the necessity of a chain of reason, concepts, or linguistic expression. It encompasses inquiry without necessity, curiosity, and the capability of imagining things not as they are or were, but as they may be in the future, or might be imagined to be otherwise. This allows for the comparison of the value and properties of one concept with the value and properties of another, or the comparison of one conception of the world against another world which may perceptibly or imperceptibly differ. Further, a concept can be found to be robust across many imaginable worlds, making it easier to believe that it may be true in our own lives and existence, while another concept may be found to hold only under a far narrower set of conditions, making it exceptional, incidental, accidental, or simply less believable in general. Here, Mankind explores and discovers those things which are not directly supported by any available evidence, and can confront its hopes and fears. This can take forms as diverse as deliberate hypothesis, pure escapist fantasy, horrific conspiracy theory, and many others. Merit is expressed as foresight, insight, and vision. Pneuma, free will, creativity, and choosing alternate realities Pneuma is the human capacity to choose, a capacity which represents itself as being more or less autonomous in the face of most any imaginable circumstance. It sees itself as the first observer and the first cause of everything with which it comes into contact. Pneuma can create its own reality, from sheer denial of what confronts it, to the full decision to order all things to be as it wills. Here, individuals and Mankind as a whole decide the conditions under which they will exist. That can be the good news or the bad news, depending. Further Research Category:Man as Construct